The first crease in my headliner is drooping down. It's where the headliner should bow up right behind the sun visors. Instead it's flat.

I found a temporary fix. 2x4 and an extendable paint handle holds it up when parked, and it stays that way when I pull out the 2x4 to drive. But it's bound to sag down again sooner or later.

Anybody tried making little holes and injecting some glue up there? I know it's a tacky solution (pun intended) but this is a work truck, not a resto rig.



This has worked for now....

 

I had the same problem a few years ago. The issue that causes the drooping is not the

glue but the thin foam layer on the headliner that is disintegrating. I took my headliner

board down and took to an upholstery shop and they fixed it up like new.

 

The headliner is a sandwich of fabric glued to a foam layer glued to a cardboard backer. With age, the foam starts to disintegrate and can no longer support the weight of the fabric

if you look at the back of the fabric, you’d swear the glue had failed and let the fabric fall loose from the foam. Actually, the glue bond is just fine. The foam itself failed, and a super thin layer separated and fell down with the fabric.

If you glue the fabric back, the existing foam will continue to fail and soon let the fabric droop again, usually within a few days. I do not care to discuss how I know this...

The permanent fix is to remove the headliner and scrape off all the old foam. New headliner fabric has a foam layer, so it’s not too difficult to replace. I did mine about 15 years ago.

Temp fix? I’ve seen it done with a line of thumbtacks all the way into the cardboard backer. Just be aware any attempt to glue the fabric back to the old foam will fail again in short order.

 

My case seems to be anomalous. The fabric is still stuck to the cardboard. I've lived that issue before in previous vehicles.

It's the cardboard itself that drooped. My little 'caveman' overnight workaround is working so far, but I'm afraid sooner or later the cardboard will droop again.

 

Hmm, interesting. I wonder if you’ve got a water leak in that area. Does your truck have rooftop marker lights?

 

No, see it there in my avatar, no clearance lights. No signs of moisture.

 

Like the others guys have said, it's very rare that the cardboard fails. If yours has failed, I would try a junkyard for another one.

 

The heater core I just discovered has been disconnected for a year or more, so the truck went at least one winter with no heat. It may be that humidity in general softened it.

But, so far it's working to prop it up at night. It stays up for the 30 minute drives to kids' school and back.

So, nobody has tried my little adhesive injection idea?

 

Its possible that the cargo light seal on the back of the roof is the culprit here.

 

If your cardboard has fallen down, what are you going to glue it to, the truck metal roof? That's not going to work. If your cardboard has truly failed, your only option is to take it out and drive without it till you repair what you have or get another used one.

 

The cardboard is good except for the first bend right behind the sun visors. It's supposed to bend up there. Instead mine was flat. Since holding it up every time we park, it's been staying up while we drive. See my first pic.

I was just thinking that a few square inches of contact cement injected up in there against the sheet metal might be a more durable fix.

 

You may be a pioneer with this one. The typical failure is the fabric drooping down from the liner. I don't think too many people (if anyone) have had the problem of the liner itself sagging.

How much of a gap is there between the liner and the sheet metal? If not too much, a little dab of construction adhesive (Liquid Nails, for example) might do the trick. I'd suggest pulling down the front edge of the headliner for access instead of drilling a hole through it.

 

If your headliner is sagging as you've shown it it's likely along the crease at the front and the only way to fix the problem is remove it and bend it back to its original shape with some way of reinforcing it . As others have said you are probably better off getting one from the JY . FYI- this is what the headliner panel looks like.